


swallowing the gun

by saintsurvivor



Series: silver bullets 'verse [2]
Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Eggsy as Guinevere, Espionage, Gen, Intelligence Extraction, Manipulation, Mentions of Harry Hart - Freeform, Misdirection, Spies & Secret Agents, Spy Politics, Torture, Trust Issues, Underhandedness, Victoria Winslow is Arthur, loyalty issues, the focus is less on torture and more on the interactions between characters tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 18:37:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5466923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saintsurvivor/pseuds/saintsurvivor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“All due respect, Arthur,” Merlin says harshly. “That boy is a time-bomb waiting to happen and we didn’t set the fuse, we just shortened it,”</p><p> </p><p>or,<br/>the second instalment of the <em>silver bullets 'verse</em> delves further into merlins thoughts of eggsy and how victoria is using eggsys relationship with the knights to keep him loyal but her's and eggsys relationship isn't all it seems</p>
            </blockquote>





	swallowing the gun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [poziomeczka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/poziomeczka/gifts).



> send me prompts n things on tumblr @ [fithertons](http://fithertons.tumblr.com)

# swallowing the gun

 

“He’s lyin’,”

 

Victoria makes a noise in the back of her throat as she looks over at Eggsy. Merlin, standing next to Victoria, leans forward a little to stare at Eggsy too. Something goes rigid in Merlins broad shoulders.

 

“Guinevere?” She asks.

 

Eggsy, in a black suit with sharp edges, the only colour being the slim crimson tie dripping down his white shirt, is still even as he gestures cleanly to the two way mirror he, Merlin and Arthur are watching as Percival and Lancelot tower over a bound man in a welded metal chair.

 

“Look at him,” Eggsy scoffs. Arthur raises an impeccable eyebrow even as she looks at him. “‘E’s playin’ Jules and Rox against each other easily, ‘e’s redirectin’ questions with questions even though ‘e _knows_ the answers, ‘e’s watchin’ them _squirm_ , ‘e’s leadin’ em round by th’ nose an’ they’re fallin’ for it”

 

There’s an unsettling note in Eggsys grim snarl.

 

Arthur makes another noise in her throat, fingers pressed to her mouth as she gazes through the two way mirror, the target grinning even as Percival breaks another finger.

 

Merlin watches silently besides her, clipboard in his hands.

 

He still remembers the last time he watched Eggsy torture and then kill a man, Thomas Johnsons, for information on their target, a Gregor Simonva, that Eggsy had then butchered. It was the only word for the way Eggsy had torn that man and his Messinne base apart.

 

“Give them another twenty,” Arthur decides, eyes heavy lidded. She watches Eggsy carefully, lingering on the daggers they both know Eggsy packs. “And then you’ll be sent in,”

 

“Yes, Arthur,” Eggsy says quietly, and his crystal clear accent makes Merlin shiver.

 

“I trust you know that I want you to try your best?” Arthur says, and something in her eyes makes Merlin think of how Eggsy looked on his exfiltration missions. He shivers, and looks away.

 

“Yes, Arthur,” Eggsy gives a razor sharp grin that Arthur returns with equal ruthlessness.

 

“Get the information and then dispose of him,”

 

“With pleasure,”

\--

 

“Arthur,” Merlin catches her elbow as they both turn to leave, leaving Eggsy standing there in his dark suit, hands in his trouser pockets, looking in on the interrogation. “Are you sure this is the correct way to go about this?”

 

Arthur runs her hands over her face, before running slim fingers over the bumps of her french braid. Her eyes are lined, and her mouth is pinched as she lowers her voice, casting a cautious glance over at Eggsy.

 

“No, I’m not sure,” She tells her second. Merlin closes his eyes, clutching his clipboard so tightly his knuckles are whitened. “But Merlin-,”

 

“I’ve had up to three agents and sixteen support staff coming up to me requesting they not be paired with Guinevere,” Merlin murmurs. “They’re terrified of him,”

 

“And who made him that way, _Aodhán_?” Arthur says, using his first name for the first time.

 

Merlin grows still, biting his inner lip.

 

“All due respect, Arthur,” Merlin says harshly. “That boy is a time-bomb waiting to happen and we didn’t set the fuse, we just shortened it,”

 

Arthur suddenly grows quiet, and her eyes are as shadowed as Merlins.

 

“Why do you think I’ve had him paired with Lancelot and or Percival?” She murmurs to him. “They’re the closest to him, they’re the ones he _trusts_ and he’s never done anything to hurt them that I’ve seen, he’s our top interrogator, Merlin, what am I to do? Cast an asset to the side because people are scared of him?”

 

Arthur gives a derisive laugh that lacks humour.

 

“If that was how people got fired, we’d _all_ be out of the job,”

 

Merlin frowns at her, fist clenching over his clipboard.

 

“What is it going to take to get you to see that Guinevere is a danger?” He hisses. “You saw the footage yourself, numerous videos and stills of what he’s done-,”

 

“And what of what _we’ve_ done, Merlin?” Arthur snaps. “Of the countless men _you_ have orchestrated to be annihilated by the Knights _you_ have trained, of the people you killed in your own youth, when you were a MI6 wet-works operative? Does that mean I should dismiss you?”

 

Merlin gives an aggravated sigh, rubbing his mouth with a hand.

 

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Merlin tells her. Arthur purses her lips, eyes cold. “What if he hurts someone-”

 

“He trusts Julian and Roxanne,” Arthur says quietly. “He’s _never_ made a movement to hurt them-”

 

“But how long is that going to last?” Merlin hisses. He rears back, eyes wide and he and Arthur stare at one another.

 

Merlin himself seems quite surprised at what he said, what was _implied_.

 

“I’m sorry,” Merlin murmurs. “That-That was out of order,” His eyes are still wide and he’s clutching his clipboard in white knuckled hands again. His broad shoulders are hunched a little. Something cold slips down Arthurs spine.

 

She gives an irritated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

 

“Harry had to pick a hell of recruit, didn’t he?” She growls beneath her breath.

 

“Well, Harry’s always been a bit of an arse,” Merlin gives a bitter laugh. Even after all this time, a little under two years later on, the ache of Harry’s death is still felt, especially in times like this. “I can’t help but wonder if this is how he knew Eggsy would turn out,”

 

“I think Harry wanted Eggsy to become like him,” Arthur tells him, voice suddenly exhausted. “And what we got-,”

 

Merlin and Arthur go silent, glancing at one another as the word _monster_ hanging silently in the air between them.

 

“Keep an eye on him,” Arthur says after a while. “I need to see if Gawain has made any more progress on the bomb residue they found in the Messinne base, it may provide clues onto where Simonva moved around to,”

 

“Keep me posted,” Merlin requested.

 

“You’ll be the first to know, Merlin,” Arthur says and turns on her heel. She pauses just before she reaches the door.

 

“Arthur?” Merlin asks.

 

“Guinevere,” Arthur says instead. Eggsy, still standing with his hands in his pocket, turns lazily in Arthurs direction. His face is predatory. They stand in silence for a minute, watching at how Roxy grimaces before tugging Julian away. They’ve got nothing.

Arthur makes a noise in her throat.

 

“Report to me immediately after, is that clear?” She asks, never taking her eyes off of Eggsy. Merlin is suddenly reminded of two predators seeing how far the other will be willing to go to protect their territory.

 

“Clear, Arthur, I’ll ‘ave your intel for you,”

 

“Good man,” Arthur says, and as she turns, Merlin gets a glimpse of the cold triumphant smile on her face.

 

Merlin suddenly realizes that Victoria Winslow is every bit a monster as Eggsy Unwin. He should have remembered that.

 

\--

 

Roxy is practically chomping at the bit when she and Julian come out of the room, a little blood splattered but no worse for wear.

 

“Bastard isn’t saying a word,” She bites out through clenched teeth as she and Julian join Merlin and Eggsy by the two way mirror. The mark is still smiling, grinning through his bloodied teeth even as he lists a little to the side.

 

“Perhaps,” Julian says in his mild voice. Something about that voice makes people trust Julian; it’s a boon to him when he needs to grease his Mark’s wheels. “Guinevere will be more successful, considering Arthur authorized his stepping in?”

 

Julian raises an eyebrow over Roxy’s head at Eggsy. Eggsy, sandwiched between the woman and Merlin, rolls his shoulders back and gives an unsettling smile.

  
“A’ course,” Eggsy grins.

 

\--

 

“My name,” Eggsy says as he rolls his shirt sleeves up. “Is Guinevere,”

 

Adam Lee, thirty two, father of two, married for six and divorced for a further two years, doesn’t make a sound.

 

“No words?” Eggsy asks, raising an eyebrow mockingly. “You seemed so keen t’ show your prowess in misdirec’ion ‘fore?”

 

Lee face splits into a humourless grin, before he spits at the edge of Eggsy’s polished oxfords.

 

“I ain’t tellin’ ye  _shite_ ,” Lee growls, face twisted and pinched with anger.

 

Eggsy laughs, and flips open the leather bag of tools he uses.

 

“Y’ will, Adam,” Eggsy says, lips pulled back over teeth in a parody of a smile. “Y’ will,”

 

Eggsy was right.

 

He sings like a _canary_.

 

\--

 

 

“Your intel, as reques’ed,” Guinevere says as he comes to a stop before Arthur’s desk.

 

Arthur takes in his blood soaked arms, white shirt rolled up to the elbows, blazer missing and how his tie is askew.

 

“Sitrep?” She asks, and Eggsy relaxes, especially when Arthur doesn’t even ask him to wipe the blood off of his arms before sitting down. She passes him a glass of lemonade, Eggsy sucking it down greedily.

 

“Simonva was par’ of a group called Te’ Black ‘And,” Eggsy says after swallowing hungrily. His fingers leave bloodied smears in the glass as he puts it down on a coaster on Arthurs desk. “They’ve got five bases all over Europe, but the main base is in America - Canada to be precise,”

 

“Any intel on what they’re keeping there?” Arthur asks, leaning forward a little.

 

“Weapons mos’ly, some ‘ave bastardized versions of Valentines tech, but they’re all but useless nowadays, one bunker ‘as C-4 wired to it, the one in Italy I think,”

 

“Good,” Arthur says, and her smile is cold. “Gawain’s findings on the bomb indicates it’s C-4, ten kilograms of it that had been traipsed in from one base to the Messinne base, we also managed to track down the particular supplier,”

 

“Par’ of Te’ Black ‘And?”  Eggsy guesses.

 

“The Black Hand has it’s fingers in many pies,” Arthur says triumphantly. “And we’re going to burn most of them,”

 

“Which,” She looks over the file Gawain had given her before gazing back up at Eggsy. “Is where you come in, Guinevere,”

 

“Always ‘appy to ‘elp, Arthur,” Eggsy grins, sketching a dodgy salute.

 

“I want you running point on the mission to Italy,” She tells him, looking over the edge of the file at him. “If the Italy base is the one with the C-4 wired to it, especially that amount, that’s going to be the one they store all their information. I want that intel, Guinevere, and I want it yesterday,”

 

“Which team am I takin’?” Eggsy asks, taking the file from where Arthur is holding it out to him and leafing through it.

 

Here, Arthur hesitates. She has one of two options, she can give Eggsy a team that includes Lancelot and Percival with Eggsy being none the wiser and potentially have either Lancelot or Percival compromise the mission because Merlin would have no doubt asked them to keep a close watch on their fellow Knight and consequently lose the trust that had been fostered between Guinevere, Lancelot and Percival but especially between Guinevere, Arthur and Merlin. Which would be a clusterfuck and they’d not only lose Eggsy’s trust but also his loyalty which, right now, is _far_ more important than his trust.

 

Or, she could opt for total transparency. It would give the illusion of trust, would make Eggsy think that Arthur is telling him this because he’s _useful_ , that Arthur isn’t concerned with Eggsy’s loyalty to Kingsman, she’d have to tell him that she’d used his friendships with Lancelot and Percival to keep an eye on him and that they were relatively in the dark onto why Arthur wanted Guinevere under extra surveillance which, whilst denting the trust between the three of them a little, would not be something that Eggsy would begrudge, especially after having to go on a three month stake-out mission after Bedivere who had been suspected of being a turncoat. She’d have to be ruthless and unapologetic. _That_ she at least has no trouble with.

 

But did the pros outweigh the cons?

 

Eggsy’s loyalty was vital to Kingsman, especially after all the intel he had extracted from numerous people and the files he’d been privy too. No wonder people have started calling him the Kingsman Secret Keeper; he’s probably more informed than anybody except for Arthur and Merlin.

 

“You’re taking a team with Lancelot and Percival,” Arthur says. “Strike Delta is under your command for the duration of your mission, they’ve worked with you before and they worked well; having a familiar face in this big of a mission will certainly help,” She gives a vague smile.

 

Eggsy, too, gives a vague smile, he’s a spy too.

 

“Cer’ainly,” He says, and sits up straight. He hands the file back to Arthur. They both ignore the bloodied prints now smeared across it’s glossy surface.

 

“Guinevere,” Arthur says as Eggsy goes to stand up. Eggsy freezes and something stills inside of him that Arthur can visibly still as he turns his gaze towards her. “Lancelot and Percival are going with you to keep an eye on you,”

 

“Oh?”

 

“We- meaning Merlin - feel that because several agents and support staff have been asking to not be paired with you, we’d put an extra pair of eyes on you to give the illusion that we’re watching you to make sure you won’t suddenly-”

 

“Become a crazed homicidal maniac?”

 

“Well,” Arthur begins. “Yes,”

 

Eggsy very quietly leans himself back in his chair, crossing his legs gracefully. His lips are stretched into a humourless grin, showing far too much teeth to be polite. Something shivers down Arthurs spine.

 

“But _aren’t_ you watching me?” His accent is crystal clear. “There is no illusion,”

 

Arthur smiles. It’s not a nice smile. Eggsy only proceeds to grin back.

 

“Only if there needs to be no illusion,” She says mildly and hands the file back.

 

Eggsy doesn’t even lean forward as he takes it back. He and Arthur lock gazes over the file they’re both gripping.

 

They gaze at one another before, seemingly as one, they each let go of the file. It gives a soft noise as it falls to the desk.

 

“Have a pleasant day, Guinevere,” Arthur says.

 

“Oh, I think I will, Arthur,” Eggsy grins.

 

“Shut the door on your way out, there’s a man,”

 

Eggsy shuts the door, tucking the blood smeared file beneath his arm even as he crumples the hand written note Arthur had tucked into his hand into a ball.

 

In her neat handwriting are the words t _hey were watching, take care excalibur._

 

Eggsy swallows the ball of paper, leaving no trace.

 

He has a mission to prep for, after all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> send me prompts n things on tumblr @ [fithertons](http://fithertons.tumblr.com)


End file.
